Park View apartments, 1936 N Clark St, Lincoln Park

The apartments

Park View has several dozen different studio, 1- and 2-bedroom floor plans. A number of plans are misleadingly labeled as convertibles on the building’s website, but lack the separate sleeping alcove that defines a convertible floor plan.

A limited number of apartments have private outdoor space. If the floor plans available online are accurate, a number of the apartments have bedrooms that lack closets. A 2-bedroom plan, for example, has only a single closet that’s not located in either bedroom. Room dimensions on a number of the floor plans are clearly inaccurate and should not be relied on.

Views. Higher-floor east-facing apartments have good views overlooking Lincoln Park. Apartments on the west side of the building look out on the Old Town Triangle neighborhood.

The building sits directly across from Lincoln Park, and most of the Old Town Triangle is landmarked, ensuring that views to the east and west will remain unobstructed.

Amenities, services, policies

Park View, typical of vintage buildings in the neighborhood, has limited amenities.

There’s a sundeck with a gas grill, a laundry room, and a small fitness room. The building also has bicycle storage.

Park View does not have on-site parking, and parking is scarce and expensive in the immediate area.

The building, reflecting its early history as an apartment hotel, has an impressive, nicely-restored lobby with marble floors and an ornate plaster ceiling.

Management and maintenance staff are on-site. Door staff is evenings-only. Park View is a cats-only building.

Move-ins are only allowed during business hours on business days.

The location

Park View enjoys a prime location directly across from the 1,200-acre Lincoln Park, one of the greatest public spaces in America. It’s almost impossible to overestimate the attractiveness of living directly on Lincoln Park.

The building’s location affords it quick access to many of the most popular attractions in the park, including the delightful free Zoo.

Shopping. Park View has reasonable proximity to grocery shopping.

Carnival Foods, a neighborhood grocer, is a few blocks northwest of Park View. The upscale Mrs Green’s, a recent arrival to the area, is a long block past Carnival, at Lincoln and Webster.

The nearest full-service grocery store, about a 10-minute walk south of the building, is Treasure Island, which bills itself as “America’s most European supermarket.”

From early May to late October, more than 50 farmers draw Wednesday and Saturday morning crowds to the Green City Market in the park, directly across Clark St from Park View.

There’s a smattering of boutiques and other retailing along Wells St, but retail access isn’t one of the property’s strong suits. Oak Street‘s glamorous boutiques and Michigan Ave’s Magnificent Mile shops are over a mile south of the property. The big-box stores of the Clybourn Corridor are a mile-and-a-half southwest.

Dining, nightlife, entertainment.
You’re not going to find the city’s hottest restaurants and bars near Park View, but you will find far more than enough long-time favorites to keep dining and drinking close to home.

Nookie’s has been a neighborhood favorite for decades. Expect a wait on weekends.

Virtually every recreational opportunity you can imagine is easily accessible to Park View residents, from North Avenue Beach to a tranquil nature boardwalk. Castaways Bar & Grill at North Avenue Beach is eight-tenths of a mile and a 16-minute walk from Park View.

Transportation. Park View’s access to public transportation is good, but not great.

Several CTA bus routes stop outside the building and several more are a short distance away in the park.

The nearest CTA train stop is the Brown and Purple Line station at Sedgwick, 7/10th of a mile and nearly a 15-minute walk from Park View.

Taxi service is nearly always instantaneously available. A Zipcar car-sharing location is a block north.

Access to I-90/94 and the city’s expressway grid is inconvenient, and can be very time-consuming during peak hours.

The competition

Rentals are typically available in a number of smaller nearby buildings just off the park.